February 27, 2020 2:17 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Lee Phillip Bell, who co-created “The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful,” has died. She was 91. A family spokeswoman says Bell died of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles. She hosted her own daytime talk show in her hometown of Chicago for 33 years. Bell and her husband William J. Bell were responsible for two of daytime television’s most successful and enduring dramas. “Y&R” has been on the air since 1973. “The Bold and the Beautiful” will mark its 33rd anniversary in March. Bell’s survivors include daughter Lauralee Bell (pictured), who stars on “Y&R.”
February 27, 2020 6:22 am
A new government survey finds that about 40% of American adults are obese. And nearly 1 in 10 are severely obese. Those findings were released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They come from a 2017-2018 health survey that measures height and weight. More than 5,000 U.S. adults took part. The obesity rate has risen about 40% in the last two decades. The severe obesity rate has doubled over that time. One obesity expert says the findings suggest that more Americans will get diabetes, heart disease and cancer. He also says it will be increasingly difficult for doctors to care for so many severely obese people.
February 27, 2020 5:28 am
A Washington man was killed in a crash along Interstate 70 in Ohio Wednesday night. The Ohio State Highway Patrol says 57 year old Gary Crouser was pronounced dead at the scene. A 6 year old boy traveling with him was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Police say Crouser’s pickup truck rolled over while traveling east near the exit to Route 41 in Clark County just after 9 p.m.
February 27, 2020 4:33 am
BALTIMORE (AP) – The former mayor of Baltimore has been sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to federal conspiracy and tax evasion. Catherine Pugh was sentenced in federal court on Thursday for selling her self-published “Healthy Holly” children’s books to nonprofit organizations to promote her political career and fund her run for mayor. Pugh spoke through tears for about 10 minutes before her sentencing. The 69-year-old former mayor apologized and said that “no one is more disappointed” than she is with her actions. The veteran Democratic politician was elected mayor in 2016 and resigned under pressure in May.
February 27, 2020 4:32 am
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Police have identified the gunman in the Milwaukee brewery shooting as an electrician whose home was searched. Milwaukee police Chief Alfonso Morales said the shooter was 51-year-old Anthony Ferrill. Morales identified the victims as Molson Coors Brewing Co. employees ranging in age from 33 to 57. Morales said police are still investigating a motive. Police searched Ferrill’s home on Milwaukee’s north side as they hunted for clues about why an employee at one of the nation’s largest breweries gunned down five co-workers before taking his own life.
February 27, 2020 4:28 am
BEIJING (AP) – As the worst-hit areas of Asia continued to struggle with a new virus, with hundreds more cases reported Thursday in South Korea and China, worries about infection and containment spread across the globe. The coronavirus has now caused more new cases outside China, the epicenter of the outbreak, than inside the country. With Brazil confirming Latin America’s first case, the virus has reached every continent but Antarctica. President Donald Trump declared that the U.S. was “very, very ready” and put Vice President Mike Pence in charge of the country’s response. The South Korean and U.S. militaries postponed their annual joint drills.
February 27, 2020 4:27 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says the U.S. is “very, very ready” for whatever the new coronavirus threat brings, even as health authorities warn Americans that more infections are coming. Shortly after a presidential news conference, the government announced a worrisome development – a new U.S. case that so far hasn’t been linked to travel abroad. Trump has put Vice President Mike Pence in charge of overseeing the nation’s response. The president has been pushing back against criticism that his administration isn’t doing enough to meet the coronavirus threat. On Capitol Hill, lawmakers are calling for much more money than the $2.5 billion the White House has requested.
February 27, 2020 4:23 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s health secretary says her agency expects to finish customizing pandemic flu plans in the coming days for the COVID-19 virus, but notes the state has yet to identify a case of infection. Dr. Rachel Levine said in a Capitol news conference Wednesday that monitoring and testing of travelers from China is continuing, although officials aren’t disclosing how many. The Health Department has plans to quickly notify the public if a case is confirmed within Pennsylvania. She says the state has supplies of personal protective equipment, but those stockpiles may be drawn down if there is a significant spread of the virus.
February 27, 2020 4:22 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – One of the nation’s largest labor unions is unveiling plans to invest $150 million in a nationwide campaign to help defeat President Donald Trump. The sweeping effort is focused on eight battleground states and voters of color who typically don’t vote. The investment marks the largest voter engagement and turnout operation in the history of the Service Employees International Union, which claims nearly 2 million members. The campaign will span 40 states and target 6 million voters focused largely in Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin. Union president Mary Kay Henry says Trump is “systematically unwinding and attacking unions.”
February 27, 2020 4:20 am
WEST NEWTON, Pa. — (WPXI) – A woman wearing a Cookie Monster costume was arrested this week after police allegedly found her overdosing in her car. The criminal complaint says Rachel Martin was slurring her words and under the influence when she dropped her 9-year-old daughter off at another home. The person who lives at the other home called 911. When police arrived they found that Martin’s daughter was only wearing yoga pants and a T-shirt with no socks or shoes when she was dropped off at the home even though the temperature was in the low 40s. Police found Martin wearing the Sesame Street costume slumped over in her idling car behind the home where she had just dropped off her daughter. Narcan was used to revive Martin. She was taken to the hospital where she was treated for an apparent heroin overdose. Martin has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering another person.
